Printing ink



Patented Dec. 9, 1952 PRINTING INK Clarence G. Cutler, Toronto, Ontario,Canada, as-

signor to Sun Chemical Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware No Drawing. Application June 28, 1947, Serial No. 757,937. InCanada May 12, 1947 12 Claims.

This invention relates to printing inks.

One object of the present invention is to provide ink materials of suchnature that they can be set by the application of steam to an imprintedbase material, and which can be satisfactorily washed up and removedfrom the distributing system of a printing press with an aqueousmaterial.

Another object of the present invention is to provide ink materialcontaining vehicles which have as the binder constituent awater-immiscible resin and a liquid carrier comprising a water-misciblesolvent, and which can be removed from the distributing system of apress with aqueous wash-ups.

Another object of the present invention is to provide ink materials ofsteam setting characteristics and which contain a water dispersible,non-ionic surface active agent.

Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from thedescription and appended claims.

Ink materials have hitherto been available which are of suchcharacteristics that the imprinted film of ink materials on a base canreadily and easily be set to non-offsetting and nonsmudging conditionsby the application thereto of water in the form of water vapor, steam orthe like. Such ink materials have many desirable characteristics andhave been utilized to a considerable extent in printing operations. inksnormally comprise a vehicle in Which there is a binder constituentcomprising a resinous material which is insoluble in water, togetherwith a liquid carrier component in which the resinous material isdispersed or dissolved. Such liquid carrier component is a material thatis miscible with water. In addition, the liquid carrier component musthave the desired characteristics of stability against evaporation whileon the press distributing systems. .Such ink systems are designedso thatwhen an imprinted film of the ink istreated with water, as abovedescribed, that there is effected a separation or precipitation of theresinous binder constituent. Upon such separation or precipitation, theresinous binder material becomes afiixed to the surface on which theprinting is done and binds the coloring material in the printing ink tosuch surface.

Many of these so-called moisture setting inks are employed intypographic printing operations.

Such

In such printing operations the ink material is transferred from an inkreservoir or fountain to a series of rollers which serve to carry a filmof the ink from the ink fountain to the form rollers of the press, andfrom these form rollers to a printing plate from which the ink film istransferred to the surface to be imprinted.

Upon the completion of a printing operation utilizing such inkmaterials, it is necessary to wash up the press, an operation whichinvolves removing from the distributing rollers, form rollers andprinting plate, theink which is present thereon.

With older types of printing inks utilized on typographic presses, suchas the inks containing drying oils or inks in which the major portion ofthe liquid material is a hydrocarbon, the material employed to effectwashing up of the presssatisfactorily has been a hydrocarbon solventwhich will dilute the ink film Without effectin precipitation of theconstituents and enable the press operator to effect removal of the inkfilm satisfactorily. In the case of the moisture setting inks, such Washup materials have not been satisfactory because of the immiscibility ofsuch moisture setting inks with the hydrocarbon wash-up materialsformerly utilized. To overcome such difiiculty with a moisture settingink, there has been utilized wash-up materials which are miscible withthe vehicle component of the moisture set ink. Many of these wash-upmaterials, however, are expensive and likewise many are dangerous inthat they are volatile, toxic, inflammable liquids.

According to the present invention there are provided ink materialswhich are effective for utilization in printing operations in Which theimprinted film is set by application of moisture as steam thereto andwhich are of such nature that they can be removed from the pressdistributing mechanism in wash-up operations by means of aqueous wash-upmaterials. Utilization of such inks permits of the securing of theadvantages of the moisture setting processes without the necessity forthe utilization of expensive or dangerous materials to effect removal ofthe ink film from the distributing mechanism and printing plate duringwash-up operations.

In accordance with the present invention, ink materials are provided inwhich there is utilized as a vehicle component a water insolubleresinous binder material dissolved or dispersed in the water-miscibleliquid carrier component, and there is included in such ink material awater dispersible, non-ionic surface active agent.

Inclusion of such water dispersible, non-ionic surface active agent inthe ink materials of the present invention results in an ink which hasthe apparently contradictory characteristics of rapidly setting to anon-offsetting, non-smudging film upon application of moisture as steamto an imprinted film thereof, and yet which can be removed withoutobjectionable precipitation or separation of the constituents, from thedistributing mechanism and printing portions of the press by the use ofaqueous washup materials.

Illustrative of successful commercial inks embodying the presentinvention are the following examples. The amount of non-ionic surfaceactive agent employed in the illustrative ink examples hereinafter setforth is satisfactorily within the range of approximately 39.6% toapproximately 62.1% by weight based upon the weight of the resinousbinder thereof. In the preparation of these inks the normalmanufacturing procedure well known to those in the ink industry can beutilized, as for example, the vehicle component may be prepared bydissolving or dispersing resinous binder material in the liquid carriereither in the cold or warm conditions and, if desired, by theutilization of agitation conditions such as stirring. Coloring materialsand pigments may be incorporated by the usual dispersing operations suchas, for example, the well-known roller mills.

Example 1 Pounds Orange pigment 2.1 Monastral pigment 6.6 Benzidineyellow 2.5 China clay 4.2 Blanc fixe 4.2 Rosin-maleic anhydride dieneresin 18.7 Diethylene glycol 37.3 Rosin 9.4 Parafiin wax 1.3 Non-ionicsurface active agent -s 11.7 Solid polyglycol 1.0 Mono calcium phosphate1.0

The non-ionic surface active agent utilized in the above ink material isa condensation product of polyethylene oxide and a mixture of fatty acidamides containing principally lauramide. The above ink material can beutilized in typographic printing operations. The imprinted ink film canbe set rapidly to a non-offsetting and non-smudging condition by theapplication of steam to the imprinted film. The ink film on thedistributing mechanism and the printing plate of the press can be washedup with an aqueous wash-up material without causing any objectionableprecipitation or separation of the components of the ink during suchwash-up operations.

Other water dispersible non-ionic surfaces active agents may be utilizedtherein. For example, the partial esters of polyhydric alcohols withlong-chain fatty acids may be employed, as for example, sorbitolmonooleate or pentaerythritolmonostearate. Likewise, condensationproducts of ethylene oxide and polyethylene oxide with long-chain fattyderivatives such as long-chain fatty alcohols, long-chain fatty esters,longchain fatty amides, long-chain fatty acids, or long-chain fattymercaptans may be employed. An example of such materials are thepolyoxyalkylene ethers of oleic acid esters, di(polyoxyethylene)lauramide and polyoxyethylene octadecyl ether. Further examples of suchnonionic surface active agents and the preparation thereof are describedin United States Patents Nos. 1,970,578 and 2,213,477. Likewise, theremay be utilized partial ethers of polyhydric alcohols with long-chainfatty alcohols such as sorbitol cetyl ether. Other examples ofwaterdispersible and glycol-dispersible non-ionic surface active agentswhich may be employed in the preparation of the printing inks of thepresent invention are set forth in Chemical Industries, vol. LII, No. 3,page 328.

Example 2 Pounds Rosin-maleic anhydrid diene resin 16.1 Diethyleneglycol 32.21 Non-ionic surface active agent 9.245 Rosin 7.26 Paraffinwax 1.05 Titanium dioxide pigment 32.8 Rhodamine dyestuff 0.2625 Vividmagenta pigment 0.2625 Auramine dyestuff 0.41 Chrome yellow pigment 0.4

The non-ionic surface active agent utilized in the above example is apolyethylene oxide condensation product with a mixture of long-chainfatty acid amides. The ink material can be utilized in letterpressprinting operations and provides an imprinted film which sets rapidly toa non-offsetting and non-smudging condition upon the application ofmoisture thereto, and which can be removed from the distributing systemand printing plate of the press by aqueous wash-up materials.

Other ink materials can be prepared, and it is possible to utilizevarious pigments and coloring materials in the inks of the presentinvention. No deleterious or objectionable change in color or shade ofthe coloring is caused.

Other liquid carrier materials likewise may be utilized, for example,glycols, polyglycols, water soluble glycol esters and ethers andwater-soluble polyglycol esters and ethers. Resinous materials which maybe employed include those resins which are dispersible or soluble in thewater-miscible liquid carrier component, but which are immiscible inwater. Examples include resinous materials resulting from the reactionof rosin with alpha beta unsaturated dicarboxylic acids and anhydrides,resinous ma terials secured by the interaction of terpenes with alphabeta unsaturated dicarboxylic acids and anhydrides, rosin, shellac andzein.

Condensation product of polyethylene oxide with long chain fatty acidamide Wax compound Condensation product of polyethylene oxide 15.5

. long chain fatty acid amide Wax compound 2.2

It is not understood with certainty why the inks of the presentinvention possess the apparently contradictory characteristics ofsetting as an imprinted film by the application of moisture thereto, andyet of being capable of being removed from the distributing mechanismand printing plate by aqueous wash-up materials. But it is known that bythe practicing of the present invention there are provided inks whichpossess such characteristics. In addition, such ink materials areextremely resistant to the action of atmospheric moisture while exposedto the atmosphere on the distributing mechanism of the press. Inaddition, the ink materials are of such nature that no objectionablechange in the characteristics of the coloring material utilized iscaused in the inks as hereinbefore described.

While the above examples constitute preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it will be understood that changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ink composition comprising a vehicle including a water-immiscibleresinous binder, a water-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent, and a waterdispersible and glycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, saidsurface active agent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% toapproximately 62.1% by weight of said binder.

2. An ink composition comprising a vehicle including a water-immiscibleresinous binder, a water-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent and acondensation product of a polyethylene oxide and a mixture of long chainfatty acid amides, said condensation product being present in amountfrom approximately 39.6% to approximately 62.1% by weight of saidbinder.

3. An ink composition comprising a vehicle including a water-immiscibleresinous binder, a water-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent and acondensation product of a polyethylene oxide and a long chain fattymercaptan, said condensation product being present in amount fromapproximately 39.6% to approximately 62.1% by weight of said binder.

4. An ink composition comprising a vehicle including a water-immisciblebinder consisting of rosin modified by reaction with maleic anhydride, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent and a water dispersible andglycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, said surface activeagent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% to approximately62.1% by weight of said binder.

5. An ink composition comprising a vehicle including a water-immiscibleshellac binder, a water-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent and a Waterdispersible and glycol dispersible nonionic surface active agent, saidsurface active agent being present in amount from approximate- 6. An inkcomposition comprising a vehicle including a water-immiscible resinousbinder, a water-miscible liquid polyglycol ether, and awater-dispersible and glycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent,said surface active agent being present in amount from approximately39.6% to approximately 62.1% by weight of said binder. I p

7. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible resinous binder, awatermiscible liquid polyglycol solvent, and a water dispersible andglycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, said surface activeagent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% to approximately62.1% by weight of said binder.

8. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible resinous binder, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent, and a condensation product ofa polyethylene oxide and a mixture of long chain fatty acid amides, saidcondensation product being present in amount from approximately 39.6% toapproximately 62.1% by weight of said binder.

9. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible resinous binder, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent and a condensation product of apolyethylene oxide and a long chain fatty mercaptan, said condensationproduct being present in amount from approximately 39.6% toapproximately 62.1% by weight of said binder.

10. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible resinous binderconsisting of rosin modified by reaction with maleic anhydride, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent, and a water dispersible andglycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, said surface activeagent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% to approximately62.1% by weight of said binder.

11. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible shellac binder, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol solvent, and a water dispersible andglycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, said surface activeagent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% to approximately62.1% by weight of said binder.

12. An ink composition comprising coloring material dispersed in avehicle, said vehicle including a water-immiscible resinous binder, awater-miscible liquid polyglycol ether, and a water dispersible andglycol dispersible non-ionic surface active agent, said surface activeagent being present in amount from approximately 39.6% to approximately62.1% by Weight of said binder.

CLARENCE G. CUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,833,686 Middleton Nov. 24, 1931(Other references on following page) 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGNPATENTS Number Name Date Number Country Date 2,002,939 Ernest May 28,1935 420,545 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1934 2,289,638 Erickson et a1 July14, 1942 2,299,135 Erickson et a1 Oct. 20, 1942 5 OTHER REFERENQES2,313,323 Erickson et aL Man 9 1943 Go1dsm1th, Chemlcal Industries,"Mar. 1943, 2,327,596 Erickson et'al Aug. 24, 1943 Nonionic surfaceActive Agentsfi pgs. 1, 2 and 3. 21327597 Erickson et a1 Aug 24, 1943Young et 111., Surface Active Agents," 1945, 2,332,066 Erickson et a1Oct. 19, 1943 9548- 2 2,335, Pingan'on 7, 1943 10 E 18. rm k 1940, pgs.189. 190 an 2,336,983 Erickson et a1 Dec. 14, 1943 2336984 Erickson eta1 Dec. 14, 1943 2,390,102 J enck Dec. 4, 1945

1. AN INK COMPOSITION COMPRISING A VEHICLE INCLUDING A WATER-IMMISCIBLERESINOUS BINDER, A WATER-MISCIBLE LIQUID POLYGLYCOL SOLVENT, AND A WATERDISPERSIBLE AND GLYCOL DISPERSIBLE NON-IONIC SURFACE ACTIVE AGENT, SAIDSURFACE ACTIVE AGENT BEING PRESENT IN AMOUNT FROM APPROXIMATELY 39.6% TOAPPROXIMATELY 62.1% BY WEIGHT OF SAID BINDER.